Landis signs with Bahati Foundation team

American pro Floyd Landis has signed with the Bahati Foundation Pro Cycling Team for the 2010 season.

Landis had been linked to the controversial Rock Racing outfit financed and owned by Rock & Republic jeans impresario Michael Ball, but when Ball’s squad failed to gain a Pro Continental or Continental racing licence from the Union Cycliste Internationale, Landis was forced to look for other options.

The Bahati Foundation aims to help children in inner-city and deprived neighbourhoods, and was created by Rahsaan Bahati. Originally from Compton, California, Bahati becaome one of America’s most prodigious track cycling talents as a junior and went on to win the 2008 US Criterium National Championships.

Cycling has given me so many opportunities that I wouldn’t otherwise have had, and I look forward to helping provide the same opportunities for less fortunate kids,” said Landis in a team statement.

Bahati’s new signing will be officially introduced to the public on Friday, March 12, at Club Nokia in Los Angeles.

Landis was stripped of the 2006 Tour de France win after failing an anti-doping test for abnormal testosterone levels. He has always maintained his innocence and has undertaken a public campaign to clear his name.

Landis rode on Lance Armstrong’s US Postal squad during the 2002-04 seasons before switching to Phonak in 2005. He has overall wins at Paris-Nice, Tour of the Algarve, Tour de Georgia and Tour of Calfornia in his palmares.

After serving a two-year ban from competition for the doping infringement, Landis returned to competition with the American OUCH-Maxxis team in 2009.

Good luck to Floyd. When a person is dirty, the;y tend to fade away. With all the work it takes to ride, and also protect your reputation, I find it hard to believe he isn’t trying to prove himself. Pick up and get it done.
Good to hear of the team signing. The more that we learn about the French system the better the sport can improve. An example of this is that the teams are not testing to an equal or better standard than the officials.
They have to just to be knowledgeable. But I would not put myself in the hands of the French politics. Armstrong has had a taste of that. And they don’t want to tick off that situation. What could get worse for the French just might. Others have poked the “American sleeping protective attitude” in the past, not always a good idea.

Matt Drudge

WRONG! No test _EVER_ showed Landis had “abnormal testosterone levels.” He was stripped of his title because of a skewed testosterone/epitestosterone ratio. LNDD claims follow-up testing indicated the presence of exogenous testosterone yet no test ever indicated his testosterone levels were abnormal.